


The Ways I Say "I Love You"

by rockbells



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, and i guess the rest of you are here to s u f f e r with me, and later smut ohohohoh, i am mlb garbage and this is my outlet for it, i love angst????, implied alya/nino - Freeform, mature for language warnings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-23 16:04:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11993184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockbells/pseuds/rockbells
Summary: the several ways the love square has said "i love you," from as a hello, a goodbye, and everything in between.





	1. 1. as a hello

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this: http://roclcbells.tumblr.com/post/164843760895/five-word-prompts
> 
> each drabble takes place in an alternate universe from each other, and no two scenarios are related. 
> 
> i do not own miraculous ladybug, adrien agreste, marinette dupain-cheng, or their respective superhero counterparts.

_This is fine,_ Adrien says to himself, even cracking a little smirk upon pure coping instinct at the sight of literal _boulders_ of men surrounding him in his own circle of demise. His eyes dart to his classmates, fisted in the hands of one of them and he grips the metal pole even tighter.

His school year is starting off incredibly shitty. He had to bust his ass to convince his ever-strict father to allow him to attend in the first place, his only friend seems to be the only enemy of a majority of his classmates, the cute pigtailed girl thinks he’s an asshole for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and on top of all that, he finds out he’s a fucking superhero. As if he wasn’t an outcast enough, his teenage social life just took a turn for the worst.

The boy sharply dodged a punch above by rolling to the side, sidesteps another one, and runs between the legs of a boulder man to evade another. His green eyes dart to Mylene and Chloe, who to his alarm have been carried away in the grip of Stoneheart, the head honcho.

He scoffed in disbelief and in defeat. _Great! If it’s possible to get fired from your own destiny, I’m about to be fucking fired from my own destiny._

Next thing he knows, he has to literally dive out the path of an oncoming car flying right at him. It misses his body by just the sliver of an inch, and he breathes out heavily.

“Ladybug,” he says to himself, but also praying by some miracle that she’s out there and can hear him, “if you hear me, I wouldn’t be against a little hand!”

Another car soars through the air, but this time it’s not for Adrien. In hasty confusion, he looks up from the ground and his eyes widen as he sees the machine heading straight for a girl running away. His muscles move faster than he can think, and he launches his pole in between the car and the girl.

Just when he sees his efforts have prevailed, he feels his body being scooped up by a purely inhumane grip. As the fist tightens, Adrien groans as he feels himself being literally crushed by the tremendous force. His miraculous offsets a few of the physical effects on his body, but the fact that he can still feel some of it is not promising to him. Like, this is gonna hurt like a bitch when he goes back to normal. Then, his prison begins to walk.

Left, right, left, right. He can feel the heaviness in his captor’s steps as he takes his almost leisurely-feeling stroll through the City of Lights. He can still breathe, but right now he’s not exactly sure if that’s what he wants. He’s let down his beautiful city, which is now infested with his mutated, mind-controlled classmate and his brainwashed rock minions. Death to escape the shame he’s feeling doesn’t sound so bad at the moment.

Pfft. So much for being a _superhero_. If this didn’t prove him to be unfit for the job, he doesn’t know what will. Even if there was no way he could be fired from/quit this new gig, Adrien was positive there was no way in hell his father would even let him see the light of day again after this. And he didn’t know a whole lot about what being a superhero entails yet, but he was goddamn sure that it wasn’t a work-at-home job.

_“Chat Noir!”_

Just like that, a voice shattered his inner monologue and yanked him back into reality.

His eyes and ears perked up from within the confines of his prison cell of a fist and a familiar looking pole sailed in from above. “Extend your staff!”

He wasted absolutely no time in acting, activating his staff to break free. He ungracefully tumbled out of the now open palm of the monster onto the concrete. He sat up almost in a daze, rubbing his head. Before he could get a look at his perpetrator, he felt something ravel itself around his ankle. When he finally made eye contact with the stone man, he nearly missed a fist that would’ve crushed him from above.

Adrien’s whole body was sharply pulled up from his ankle, and the Chat Noir yelped out as his world turned upside down. He hung from what he assumed to be a lamppost, and he heard the same melodious voice from before greet him.

“Sorry for the delay!” his partner said sheepishly.

His green eyes angled up to meet her blue ones, and even upside down a teasing smile made its way onto the teenager’s voice. “My lady, have I told you how much you knock me upside down?”

Chat Noir could see her smile lift up to her eyes even from underneath the mask, and he felt a funny warmth spread into his body. “Oh, you’re the joker type aren’t you?” she said.

Their moment was promptly interrupted by a great, _“AAAARGH!”_ and the two heroes looked at the three new minions surrounding them.

“We need to get out of here,” she said quickly, jumping onto the nearest rooftop. Unfortunately, her partner was still very much entangled in her yo-yo, and Adrien yelped as he flew through the air. She retracted the yo-yo once they got some serious airtime and Adrien followed her lead through the Parisian skyline.

“Hey!” he yelled. “Are we not going to take care of them?”

“No,” she lead him towards the Eiffel tower, jumping off onto the overlook a ways from the tower. “If we want to save them all there’s only one we need to focus on.”

Chat Noir’s attention immediately shifted onto the biggest rock minion. He was on the Eiffel tower as several aircraft surrounded him. The monster let out another roar.

The duo sprinted down to the police barrier that closed off the roads to the tower. A scream sliced through the air along with a blur of yellow from the tower, and before Adrien could even realize it, Ladybug took off. He blinked and it seemed like Ladybug was already a hundred feet away, now with a very shocked looking Chloe in her arms. Suddenly, it clicked for Adrien. Ivan had thrown her from the tower.

He glanced over at his partner and his classmate, Chloe jumping out of her arms and into her father’s. For Ladybug to have seen that and reacted so quickly… He let out a breath in amazement as he joined her side. She must have been incredibly aware and fast. She was amazing.

“We can give the assault!” cried a police officer. The guns of his men cocked and aimed at Ivan, and Ladybug acted immediately.

“Wait, no, don’t attack him! You’ll only make things worse!”

“No!” retorted the officer. “We don’t need superheroes. So please, let the professionals do it, you’ve already failed!”

Chat Noir was taken aback by the harsh words. He glanced over at Ladybug and it was clear that she was too. She let out a soft gasp and her face was wiped blank before it completely fell and crumbled.

She turned to him. “It’s true, he’s right. If I had captured Stoneheart’s akuma, all of this would be over.” Ladybug covered her face in shame. “I’m really not cut out to be a superheroine.”

Adrien’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he gasped. His hand flew out to place itself on her shoulder. “But what are you talking about, that’s not true. Because without you,” he glanced at Chloe and her father, and Ladybug turned her head over her shoulder to glance at her as well, “this girl wouldn’t be here anymore.

“So pull yourself together. Without us they won’t make it and we’re gonna prove it to them.” Adrien set his other hand on her shoulder and turned Ladybug around to face him. “Trust me. Alright?”

He watched his partner blink at him a few times, her vulnerability showing through her eyes. Then, he saw her expression alight and a smile paint itself onto her lips. “Alright.”

They both yelped as a loud roar came from behind them. Stoneheart screamed as he coughed up a horde of black butterflies above him in a cloud. Out of exhaustion, the giant villain tumbled backwards, and the butterflies formed what was clearly a face full of menace and hate.

“Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me carefully.” the voice instructed. It was not comforting at all, and had no bit of warmth in it. It was completely cold, calculating, and ready to tear its intended audience apart if needed. “I am The Papillon.”

“The Papillon?” both cat and ladybug exclaimed.

“Ladybug.” Chat Noir could feel her tense up beside him as Papillon said her name. His very own shivers traveled up his spine when he heard “Chat Noir.” Several helicopters started to fly closer to the mask when it said, “Give me your Miraculous. The ladybug’s earrings and the black cat’s ring, and everything will go back to normal, the people have suffered enough because of you.”

Adrien gaped at the monstrous figure. Those three words had enough power to make him feel like a little boy again, like the smallest, most insignificant little thing that could be looked upon. _Because of me?_ Adrien would tear his own self apart at the thought.

He was shaken out of his thoughts at the sound of someone clapping next to him. He looked up to see his partner, unfazed by the words that strung a chord in him so deep, as she walked towards the tower. “Nice try, Papillon.” Chat Noir was stunned by the confidence in her voice as she grinned, almost as if she was hungry for the challenge. “But don’t reverse the roles, we all know who the supervillain is. You’re the one who transformed all these innocents into monsters of stone and rock!”

Chat Noir’s jaw must’ve been unhinged at this point, but Ladybug kept trucking on. She didn’t come to play. “Papillon.” Her voice echoed through the city that went quiet to hear her voice demand for attention. “It doesn’t matter how long it’ll take. But we’ll find you, and you’ll be the one giving us your Miraculous!”

With that, Ladybug broke into a sprint, swinging her yo-yo back and forth to catch momentum. She created a slingshot-like mechanism between two lampposts and shot herself up into the air. Adrien could only watch in pure amazement, disbelief, and a little bit of terror as she swiped her yo-yo back and forth across the face, making slices through the butterflies until the whole face burst open. She reached for one butterfly in particular, the only one left, and caught it as she landed onto the platform.

Adrien Agreste, the mayor, Chloe, the police, and the entirety of Paris could only spectate as she stood atop the first platform of the tower and faced them. “I’m making a promise to all of you. No matter whether some try to do to hurt you, Ladybug and Chat Noir will do everything in their power to help you!” With that she activated her yo-yo, and out shot a new horde of white butterflies.

As everyone broke out into cheers around him, Adrien still had the same dumb look on his face. He could only stare at his partner in awe, completely entranced by her. Her suit seemed to shine as she stood there like an angel sent from heaven, a proud smile on her face that accentuated the rosy apples of her cheeks. And like that she beamed like a ray of hope, he was a distance away from her but he could feel it; her love for the city, her people - this was her true calling.

“Wow.” he finally said, and he couldn’t help the smile that formed onto his lips. His partner stirred up something inside of him that was totally new to him, but he was definitely accepting it with open arms as his grin grew wider. “Doesn’t matter who’s under that mask but…I love her, this girl.”


	2. 2. With a hoarse voice, underneath the blankets

It’s October now.

It’s early October, but Paris has already seemed to take quite a keen liking to the changing of seasons. The city’s eagerness is evident in the nipping cool autumn air, a brush that makes its presence known on the flushed cheeks of the capital city’s own two teenage superheroes. 

Feline and lady beetle walk side by side along the aged rooftops. They admire the skyline in comfortable silence as they look out onto the city they have been destined to protect. 

It has been two years since the initial mission of protecting Paris had been bestowed upon them. Two years since their lives had been forever changed, two years since they fell in love with (unknowingly) each other, and now three weeks since Adrien Agreste was no longer just Adrien Agreste to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng was no longer just Marinette Dupain-Cheng to Adrien Agreste.

Now whenever Chat Noir would steal a glance at his lady on duty, he saw the sweet face of his cute, kind classmate. As Marinette’s gaze drifted onto her normal fixed point at the back of Adrien’s head in class, she was reminded of the blonde-haired, mischievous kitty cat whose affections she had been brushing off for so long.

Three weeks ago, a reveal was prompted by the true love confession of a certain black suited superhero. The two made a mutual decision at that point, and they felt the suspense, the build-up, and the anticipation crawl up their spines, only to be overcome with the shell-shocked, world-quaking conclusion. Shock took over what overstimulation couldn’t translate to them. Now that their consciences were aware of who the other truly was, their subconsciouses knew for a fact that they wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

Unfortunately, neither have come out of the shell-shock just quite yet. Now completely aware of each other’s mutual feelings, which had immediately manifested to develop onto the other’s persona as well, the two were stuck in a limbo. Tiptoeing on the border, the fine-line between the inevitable destiny and a creeping stalemate. 

Night patrols since then have been rather quiet, and the duo had even been out of sync a few times during akuma battles in the very first few days. Albeit settled down now, uncertainty still taints the air. 

On this particular night patrol however, the two are more loosened up than usual. Between a few stolen glances that have met a few times and more than a few soft smiles that had been returned each time, perhaps this was the beginning of the end of the limbo. 

They even start to chit-chat, talking about that one TV show they both found out they had a common interest in nearly a year ago, or can-you-believe-that-one-ridiculous-akuma-we-once-fought, or their two equally as smitten best friends. 

After hours of balancing on ledges, Chat Noir bouncing his pole along the tiles of rooftops, and finally coming to a conclusion that the city is miraculously quiet for once, Ladybug and Chat Noir find their way to their favorite spot to gaze out onto the city during uneventful patrols like this. 

This particular rooftop offers a spectacular view. You can see the glowing, ambient yellow light emanating from the iconic tower to the right and the Arc de Triomphe to the left. Chat Noir scales his way up onto the highest point first, sticking his hand down for his Lady to grab. She gratefully takes his hand with a wonderfully warm smile that’s managed to send tingles down his whole body all this time, and he hoists her up onto the place next to him reserved just for her.

They talk quietly for an hour or two, the cool breeze tickling their faces occasionally, but both of them are too enamored in each other’s company to care much. In a subconscious effort to conserve heat, they scoot closer to each other. At one point Marinette leans her head on his shoulder as they look out onto the beautiful view. Adrien pretends to not feel the blush creeping onto his cheeks as he tries his best to only move his eyes to look at her, petrified she might move away if he makes any motion.

At three am, their night patrol has officially adjourned and the two are prepared to part ways and see each other at school in approximately five and a half hours. Within the span of time, they will allow each other the minimal sleep that their bodies have fully adjusted to now after two years of late-night patrols. 

Ladybug stands up and offers a hand to the still-sitting Chat Noir, which he gratefully takes. At this point, she would usually head to the left towards her house and Chat Noir would usually head to the right. But as she prepares to wave him goodbye and bid him goodnight, he grabs her wrist before she turns. 

When she does turn, her eyes immediately shift at his fingers wrapped around her, a shy blush already finding its way up her face. She’s hesitant to meet his gaze but she does anyways. From Adrien’s point of view, he didn’t mean to grab her wrist but as he’s come to find out about himself, he always places his actions before his speech. Seeing Marinette look up at him from under her lashes like that while he touches her is enough to drive him crazy, an urge he manages to suppress as he stares at her like an idiot.

Slowly, he unwraps his fingers from her wrist, an action they both watch in displeasure.

“Um,” he finally says, 100% abashed.

She rushes in to say, “Adrien, it’s fine.” which is more than enough to prompt an overdrive in Adrien’s nerves. Hearing his real name come from the lips of the masked identity of the girl of his dreams is still not something he’s used to, and also knowing that the girl of his dreams and the girl who he sat in front of in Lycee for two years are the same person comes as something that’s still hard for him to believe is something that actually happened. Like, he knows he’s an idiot and all but this is a new low.

Suppressing the urge to scream, he swallows as he meets her gorgeous blue eyes. Fuck, Adrien, get a grip man, he says to himself as he grits his teeth. “Wait, Ladybug, before you go.” he says, backtracking on what he was originally going to say.

Marinette turns her head to look at him from over her shoulder, and Adrien feels like mush. “D-Do you think I could walk you home tonight?” 

Stuttering in front her is something she’d never thought Chat Noir would do. Then again, she didn’t think that Chat Noir and the boy she had a terrible crush on for two years would be one and the same either. Some part of her almost laughs at the fact that she makes the Chat Noir nervous, the very same boy who would relentlessly flirt with her and throw out his declarations of love to her like that on a weekly basis. The other part is quick to remind her that this isn’t just Chat Noir now, oh no, it’s Adrien Agreste as well. 

Getting a grip for Marinette is out of the question, but she manages to carry on just fine with her security blanket she likes to call ‘Denial.’

Feeling her stomach churn she says with a chuckle, “Come on, Kitty Cat, you know I can take care of myself.” 

Adrien can’t help a smirk from making its way onto his face. He never declines an invitation to banter, especially not from his favorite girl. “Why, Bugaboo, I wasn’t suggesting that at all.” he says quite seriously, taking a few steps towards her. “You know I was just finding an excuse to wring out a little extra time with you.”

This is the first time Chat Noir has offered to walk her home after patrols since before they revealed themselves to each other. Both Marinette and Adrien find comfort in finding their footing in fantastically familiar repartee, but parts in them are hesitant to fully engage knowing that witty conversation isn’t just between their superhero counterparts now. 

Hence, Adrien Agreste full-on admitting he just wants to have a little more extra time with her makes her heart beat wildly, and Marinette prays that his super senses can’t hear it pounding inside her ribcage. “Always a casanova,” she says in a faux annoyed tone, but her grin gives it all away. All while fighting an impending cardiac arrest. Ladies and gentlemen, charming girl by day, superheroine by night, and all-around decent actress: Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The whole route to her house, Marinette is attempting to jump all of her nerves out and even doing a couple of flips to really go the extra mile. By the time they each her balcony, Marinette is already unhatching the trap door to her room by kicking the lock, and Chat has made himself comfortable as he perches on the railing. 

This is also the first time Chat’s been around since the reveal. The whole initial events thing are what is knocking them both of their guard without really having to say much else. Both are unsure how to handle the situation, navigating uncharted waters for the very first time. 

Marinette clears her throat, unsure of what to do next. She feels an obligation to be as inviting as she can to him, after all she was raised by two businesspeople and guests are a thing that is taken seriously in the Dupain-Cheng house. “Um, do you want to come in?” she says, detransforming. As soon as the words leave her lips, her eyes widen as she shakes her head and hands. “I-I didn’t mean it to come out like that! I just- I was just- I feel an obligation to invite you in- FOR REFRESHMENTS OF COURSE- well, of course it’s not an obligation, I do want you to come in-” 

Her rambling is cut short by the soft chuckles of the blonde, and she stares at him as he laughs and rubs the back of his neck nervously. As he makes eye contact with her, her heart lurches once again. “That sounds wonderful, Marinette.” 

She’s quiet before sheepishly smiling at him, flipping over the hatch to her room with her foot. She descends down into the apartment, and Adrien follows tentatively. 

Her room is dark, and he doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. Well, he does, it’s that it’s the room of Lady-fucking-bug and he’s actually been here before but didn’t even catch it, also it’s three am and if her parents caught him in here that would be a whole other problem to deal with. 

“You don’t mind if I,” Adrien says, gesturing to his suit and ring as Marinette walks towards her desk. 

She turns around and give him a wave of her hand. “Oh yeah, of course, knock yourself out.”   
A flash of green overtakes the room for a split second and Chat Noir is gone, replaced with just Adrien Agreste. He smooths his shirt down and watches his kwami wander off into a corner of the room, most likely to be with Tikki. His eyes scan the room, the familiar sight of pink and cozy furniture soothing his senses. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.” he muses. He’s obviously suggesting since he’s been here as Adrien, not Chat. 

“Yeah, nothing’s really changed.” Marinette opened a drawer in her desk and took out a single napkin from a pack inside, and opened the breadbox on her desk and carefully selected a croissant. 

Adrien walked over to her and smirked. “You know, I try not to conform to stereotypes but this might be the most baker thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life.”

Marinette smiled and playfully smacked his shoulder. “Oh, shut up. If you really feel that way, I guess this croissant will be mine.”

The playful expression is completely wiped off his face. “No, no, no, no. I was kidding. I was kidding, Marinette. Come on.”

She gives him an arched brow, which he returns with pleading eyes and a stuck out bottom lip. The girl shakes her head and hands him the croissant, which he thankfully accepts. He takes a seat at her desk while Marinette takes off her earrings. 

While admiring her beauty as always, he notices that she’s already wearing her pajamas. A white t-shirt and plaid pajama pants with white and pale pink, and she undoes her hair from their pigtails and does it up in a messy bun.

“When did you get the time to change?” he inquired curiously.

She spins around with a giddy smile on her lips like she’s excited to tell him something that he bets he is going to find impossibly charming and adorable. “Before night patrols I always change into my pajamas and then transform, so that when I get home I just detransform and fall into bed. I’m always excited to go to sleep.”

Aaaand he was right. he mentally curses as he takes a rather harsh bite of his croissant, averting his eyes from hers. At the sound of rustling sheets, he looks over at her bed and watches her crawl underneath the pink comforter. “What are you doing?”

“Going to bed, Chaton.” she says in an obvious tone, bringing the covers up closer to her face. “I’m serious about my bedtimes. When you finish your croissant you can show your way out.” 

Initially he thought she was kidding, but when the lump under the covers started to rhythmically move up and down, he knew she was really asleep. In amazement, he moved and sat on the foot of her bed to finish up his croissant, examining her peaceful expression. That was like two minutes.

Not to sound like a creep, but watching Marinette sleep was calming to him in a different caliber. Well, okay, that definitely sounded creepy but he meant for it to come off as romantic. Her bangs hung in her face, eyes lidded close and her lips slightly parted. Her long lashes curled up from her shut eyes, and the sound of her breathing was audible, but not loud at the least. 

He visualised that face underneath the mask of the girl he had loved for so long, and the person underneath that mask of the love of his life and realized they had now fully become one person. Two years ago, he remembers saying to himself that whoever that girl was underneath the mask, he loved her. Adrien Agreste was 100% he loved Ladybug, and now he was absolutely certain he loved Marinette with the same fervor, passion, and without a wavering doubt. 

Staring at her, clutching his empty napkin, he murmured, “I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Silence followed, which is what he was expecting naturally since she was asleep after all. 

He sighed and rose from the bed, throwing out his napkin and scanning the room. He walked back up to her bed by her, and brushed the bangs out of her forehead and setting his hand on top of her head. 

“Plagg, let’s go.” he called, lifting his hand. A black tiny mass arose from behind the bookshelf, finding its way into his shirt pocket. He peeked out and grinned up at Adrien, to which he looked down at. “What is it, dweeb.” Adrien deadpanned.

“Don’t call me the dweeb, dweeb. You’re totally whipped.” replied the kwami. 

Adrien shook his head, fighting a blush. “Transform me now or that’s no camembert for you tonight.” 

“Alright, alright!” Plagg surrendered. “So, so stingy.” 

A flash of green overtook the pink room, and Chat Noir tip-toed up the hatch, making sure to carefully shut it as to not wake the sleeping superheroine. Once he was on the balcony, he perched onto the railing, taking one last look at Marinette’s private little corner of Paris before jumping off into the Parisian night, his confession of love trailing right behind him.


End file.
